Three US lawmakers appeared at a rally in Washington DC yesterday to address hundreds of Cambodians calling for election reform and an end to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s rule.

Republican congressmen Steve Chabot, Dana Rohrabacher and Ed Royce reiterated calls for electoral reform and democratic change in Cambodia.

“In a nutshell, the politicians spoke of the need for an independent investigation [into] the election, concerns about land grabbing and human rights issues in Cambodia,” 27-year-old Cambodian-American Seda Nak told the Post.

Chabot said at a July 9 congressional hearing on Cambodia that he was planning on introducing legislation to cut direct military aid to the government if the elections were not free and fair.

His office has not replied to requests for comment.

In a video of Chabot’s speech posted online yesterday, he says that human rights abuses committed by the Cambodian People’s Party “will not pass without consequences”.